Let's Recycle!
Recycling is a processing of used or waste materials into new or similar products. The concept of recycle are to prevent :-
- Waste of potentially useful materials.
- Reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials.
- Reduce energy usage.
- Reduce air pollution for example from incineration
- Reduce water pollution for example from landfilling
by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse gas emissions as compared to virgin production.
Recycling is a key component of modern waste reduction and is the third component of the "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" waste hierarchy.
Recyclable materials include many kinds of glass, paper, rubber, tyre , metal, plastic, textiles, and electronics. Although similar in effect, however the composting or other reuse of biodegradable waste – such as food or garden waste – is not typically considered recycling.
Materials to be recycled are either brought to a collection center or picked up from the curbside, then sorted, cleaned, and reprocessed into new materials through manufacturing.
In the strictest sense, recycling of a material would produce a fresh supply of the same material—for example, used office paper would be converted into new office paper, or used foamed polystyrene into new polystyrene. However, this is often difficult or too expensive (compared with producing the same product from raw materials or other sources), so "recycling" of many products or materials involves their reuse in producing different materials (e.g., paperboard) instead.
Another form of recycling is the salvage of certain materials from complex products, either due to their intrinsic value (e.g., lead from car batteries, or gold from computer components), or due to their hazardous nature (e.g., removal and reuse of mercury from various items).
Waste Hierachy
The waste hierarchy refers to the 3Rs of reduce, reuse, and recycle, which classify waste management strategies according to their desirability. The 3Rs are meant to be a hierarchy, in order of importance. However in Europe the waste hierarchy has 5 steps: reduce, reuse, recycle, recovery, and disposal.
The waste hierarchy has taken many forms over the past decade, but the basic concept has remained the cornerstone of most waste minimisation strategies. The aim of the waste hierarchy is to extract the maximum practical benefits from products and to generate the minimum amount of waste.
Some waste management experts have recently incorporated a 'fourth R': "Re-think", with the implied meaning that the present system may have fundamental flaws, and that a thoroughly effective system of waste management may need an entirely new way of looking at waste. Source reduction involves efforts to reduce hazardous waste and other materials by modifying industrial production. Source reduction methods involve changes in manufacturing technology, raw material inputs, and product formulation. At times, the term "pollution prevention" may refer to source reduction.
Another method of source reduction is to increase incentives for recycling. Many communities in the United States are implementing variable rate pricing for waste disposal (also known as Pay As You Throw - PAYT) which has been effective in reducing the size of the municipal waste stream.
Source reduction is typically measured by efficiencies and cutbacks in waste. Toxics use reduction is a more controversial approach to source reduction that targets and measures reductions in the upstream use of toxic materials. Toxics use reduction emphasizes the more preventive aspects of source reduction but, due to its emphasis on toxic chemical inputs, has been opposed more vigorously by chemical manufacturers.